The Behrend beacon. (Erie, Pa.) 1998-current, March 19, 2010, Image 9
A VOICE FROM THE FACULTY The positive effects of single-stream ANN QUINN /(’( f uit‘t in There is not one person on the green planet who wants to spend excessive time with recy clables. Single-stream recy cling is making it easier than ever to do your part to help the environment. The Greener Behrend Club at Behrend collected data over the month of Feb. 2010 to see if sig nage coupled with encourage ment given from RAs increased recycling rates on campus. The club made signs, bulletin boards and updated stickers for recyclable containers. Behrend has recycling col lected by Waste Management (WM). WM began a single stream collection process which currently comprises 30 percent of their recycling facil ities across the United States. WM Recycle America is fo cused on making it easier for people to recycle - whether at home or at work. In 2001, WM became the first major solid waste company to focus on res idential single-stream recy cling, which allows customers mins FUELING '«CAN DOPE WAPS? Kr U g man slams Krugman? ED MISETA /<■< lun'i in i‘i i >ni>mii ■. Everyone has their opinions and the right to voice them. That is probably one of the greatest things America has going for it. The president can say he fa vors government-run health care. I can say the president is acting like a socialist, and someone else can tell me to shut up. We are free to speak our minds, something that mil lions of people around the globe cannot. I enjoy reading all view points, including the ones with which I vehemently disagree. The funny thing is that the person whose views I find my self constantly at odds with is a fellow economist. I am speaking about New York Times columnist Paul Krugman. Economists have al ways had disagreements on policy issues. All economists will agree that an increase in demand will cause prices to rise, and that countries specializing in what they do best will make us better off. I may believe consumers should determine demand and that we should trade more, 470, Co'wDri.e.a, PA 16563 THE BEHREND BEACON Executive Board Edltor-ln-Chlef: Business Manager: Connor Sattely Bethany Long editor@psu.edu pjlso37@psu.edu Managing Editor: Faculty Advisor: Shawn Annarelli K ' m Young kjylo@psu.edu Marketing Manager Katie Cook klcs293@psu.edu smaslB9@psu.edu Web Editor: Jeremy Korwek jdksoo9@psu.edu to mix recyclable paper, plastic 1 through 6 and glass in one bin. Residential single-stream programs have greatly in creased the recycling rates, re covering as much as three times the amount of recyclable materials. Single-stream recycling is made possible through the use of various mechanized screens and optical sorting technolo gies. The issue at Behrend was that, although the program was in place, the recycle bins still told students, faculty and staff Before Single-Stream After Single-Stream Lawrence Hall: 124.2 lbs of Trash 68.2 lbs of Recycling Niagra Hall: 70.4 lbs of Trash 71.2 lbs of Recycling while Economist B might be lieve the government should step in to change demand and that we should not trade with countries that have a lower standard of living than us, even if it makes us better off. Despite these differences, I sometimes will read articles by Krugman and wonder on what economic planet he was born. Krugman apparently does not like what is currently going on in Washington, D.C. He states in a recent New York Times column that there is an “incredible gap that has opened up between the parties." He feels Democrats and Re publicans now live in different universes. He states, however, that “what Democrats believe is what textbook economics says." I suppose that means Repub lican economic beliefs go against textbook economics. To put this in context, he was discussing Republican Jim Bunning’s blocking of a bill to extend unemployment benefits to unemployed Americans. But is this true? Many would beg to differ. As reported by Opinionjournal.com, when de fending Bunning’s position, Fel low Sen. Jon Kyi (R-Ariz.) said unemployment relief "doesn't create new jobs. News Editors: Ally Orlando acososl@psu.edu Rachelle Thompson rltso6s@psu.edu Ast. News Editor: Eric Peirce ewpsos2@psu. edu Sports Editors: Nick Blake npbso4l@psu.edu Alec Italiano ajiso37@psu.edu Opinion Editor: Neil James opinion@psu.edu to separate materials. One of the goals of The Greener Behrend Club was to inform everyone on campus that it has been easier than ever to do the right thing. If you haven’t noticed the Captain Planet Campaign urging you to recycle, just look for the posters. Also there will be new signs placed on the recycle bins reminding everyone that we have single-stream recycling. Your empty soda can go in the same bin with your newspa per and your old notes. Even Lawrence Hall 63.6 lbs of Trash 135.6 lbs of Recycling Niagra Hall: 78.6 lbs of Trash 103.8 lbs of Recylcing “In fact, if anything, continu ing to pay people unemploy ment compensation is a disincentive for them to seek new work." "To me, that's a bizarre point of view," wrote Krugman, "but then, I don't live in Mr. Kyi's uni verse." Apparently he also does n’t live in the real world. In my former job at Corry Publishing, I once interviewed an executive who was lament ing unemployment benefits. This was right after the 2001 re cession. His company was growing and needed to hire more employees. Unfortunately, the govern ment kept extending unem ployment benefits, giving Americans an incentive to con tinue to stay home and collect rather than return to work. “I have spoken with individu als who are enjoying their time off and are simply not ready to go back to work,” he said. “The government is making it harder for us to hire the employees we need.” Perhaps Krugman’s problem is that he has spent his entire career behind a lectern and not in a corporate board room. But more to the point, what exactly does textbook economics have to say about this question? Editori Culture Editor: Shannon Ehnn sbesol7@psu.edu Copy Editors: Jeff Kramer jsksl6l@psu.edu Marcus Yeagley mjysol2@psu.edu Videographer: Mike Fultz mjts2o4@psu.edu the staples and paperclips can go in. The results of the study at two similar college dorms went very well. The comparison took place between Niagara Hall and Lawrence Hall. During the week of Feb. 8-12 Greener Behrend Students led by Emily Glacken collected and weighed trash versus recycled materials. The week of Feb. 15-19, the signs and bulletin boards went up. In addition the RAs told to the students about single stream recycling. Lastly, during the week of Feb. 22 - 26, trash versus recy clables were again weighed and measured. The results (see table) were remarkable. Single-stream is working well at Behrend. It makes it eas ier for everyone to recycle and make our campus even greener. If you have any suggestions to improve these efforts, please visit the Greener Behrend web site at http://www.greencam pus.psu.edu and contact us. Opinionjournal found the fol lowing passage in a textbook ti tled Macroeconomics:” Public policy designed to help workers who lose their jobs can lead to structural unemployment as an unintended side effect. “In other countries, particu larly in Europe, benefits are more generous and last longer. The draw back to this generos ity is that it reduces a worker's incentive to quickly find a new job.” Hmmm... is it just me, or does that sound an awful lot like the bizarre, other-worldly Republican point of view? This seems to completely contradict the Krugman point of view. Now I know what you’re thinking: This might be an ex ample of economists disagree ing on a policy issue. Except, as it turns out, it is Krugman dis agreeing with Krugman on a policy issue. The authors of the book cited by Opinionjournal are Paul Krugman and Robin Wells (aka Mrs. Paul Krugman). This then makes you wonder if Krugman is an economist trying to edu cate his readers, or a political hack just trying to score points for his big government point of-view. Telephone: (814)898-6488 Fax: (814)898-6019 Photo Editor: Business Editor: Akeem Mclntosh ! Any l eUers intended tor publication must be addressed to the editor, be no more than .150 words, and include the aomSI43@DSU edu : wri,er s name and P h,me number Letters may be edited tor content or length at the editor m chief's discretion. H , f| P rfJ# j The Behrend Beacon does not publish anonymous letters to the editor If students want their letters to be numanmes eanor. ; published, they must include (heir name. The Behrend Beacon intends for its Opinion page to be a forum for Adam spinelli : discussion, not a screen to hide behind. Occasionally, The Behrend Beacon may request responses to online alsssB9@psu.edu -queries in which responders will be identified by their username. Daniel J. Smith photoeditor@psu.edu Ast. Photo Editor: Stephan Fyfitch sttso26@psu.edu Engineering Editor: Ryan Frankouski Science Editor: : The Behrend Beacon IS editorially independent from the Penn Mate system. The Behrend Beacon operates par- Rvan Gllld : 0,1 Student Activity fee. and partially on advertising revenue It is published every Fridav during the school : vear exce P l l° r Before and during scheduled vacations, with exceptions for special issues. rggso<'9L psu.edu ; The editor-in-chief has the final authorev on editunal decisions, including, but not limited to. all columns, edilo : rials, and letters to the editor Complaints regarding Beacon coverage of school events should be directed to the edi j tor at editor ■> psu.edu rstsos4@psu.edu MY VOICE The side effects of social networking Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and Formspring. All of these things have one thing in com mon. They are all social net working sites. As if you didn’t already know! Parents wonder, "What’s all the hype?” Professors ask “Why are grades plummeting?” But us, the social networking generation, love it Sitting in class KAMILLE WATSON To be featured in next weeks -Letters to the Editor MY VOICE Need money fast? Follow my guide! sj <D> As college students, we need a way to earn some cash. After tuition, food, and other ex penses, we're left to be so poor that we’re begging homeless people for some spare change. nSY BO §Z v —I §» a c What if I told you there was a way to change that 9 What if, by some chance, we could actually walk out of Penn State Behrend with more than a SIOO.OOO bill to our names? As Barack Obama would say, "yes we can!" Step 1: Play the lottery. Everyone knows that the odds for w'inr ’ *he f are excellent, not so much, said, someboi win the thing. you? Go to y store and i what you ha' in lottery tick- ets. Thats2oo million jack pot would look awfully nice in your count wouldn’t it? Step 2 Pa rt i c i pate in clinical studies Why not be come a human guinea pig? Sci entists need a tester for a new shampoo? Volunteer! Someone needs to test a new vaccine? Volunteer! Psychologists want to see the impact of a person living with a tribe of cannibalis tic savages? Volunteer! Sure, you might miss out on a few limbs, but you’ll have the money, and that’s all that mat ters! Step 3: Sell your body parts You only need one kidney to survive, right? Those sell for a couple thousand dollars on the black market. And as a plus for Single copies of the Beacon are tree and available at newsstands around campus. Additional copies can be pur chased with permission of the editor-in-chief tor SI .5(1 each. Opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of all students, faculty or University administration Opin ions expressed in columns, cartoons, and letters are not necessarily those of The Behrend Beacon unless otherwise indicated. Behrend Beacon March 19, 2010 www.thebehrendbeacon.com W,!// n riU 1 ' Send a 350 word email to opinion@psu.edu BRANDON BOYD s rmni wiitvr All profile photos taken by Daniel Smith / Behrend Beacon iditorial Poli photo tags and comments, anonymous questions being asked about our lives, so and so’s relationship status change, and the argument going on about who loves Chris Brown more over Twitter. “When will it stop?” you may ask. “Never!” would be our re sponse, if we had anything to do with it. Social networking sites have become an everyday thing for us, and they are definitely a hard habit to beat. Tweeting, following, poking, and all of that stuff that is just so easy to love, who could just call it quits? Games, notes, up all night let ting the outside world in with questions like “What’s on your mind?” Who wouldn’t love this? These sites allow us to ex press our individuality while still following the crowd, ironic to some, hypocritical to others. To us it’s the way of life, the norm, the thing to do when all other responsibilities are not as fun. Social networking sites have become the everyday, all night, should be doing but instead I’m messaging, poking, tweeting, tagging, and requesting, way of life for our generation. Personally, I see no problem with that. the ladies, you’re sure to lose a few pounds from getting rid of that kidney! I know for sure that you don’t need your appendix. Sure, no one else technically needs one either, but I’m certain someone will shell out a few dollars for it. If you're willing to sacrifice an eye, arm, or leg for the glo rious green paper, have at it! I’m sure there’s a market for those, too. Step 4: Beg on the streets. I've heard stories of people aki bookoo bucks by put the crappiest ley could find, de dirt, rub it on :e, and say you : ord to shower. Make a sign ill draw people ears are a plus, re funny signs “I'm like 1 want Step 5: Al ays help Niger in Princesses. Now this, my friends, is the holy grail of making money. This gives you the opportunity to be like Mario and save the princess. It’s simple: help a wealthy foreigner move millions of dol lars from their homeland, and you get a cut of it. If they ask for your credit card number and Social Security number, don’t hesitate to give them it. After all, some of them are doc tors. Who would doubt a doc tor? If you don’t want to follow through with these steps, there’s only one option: get a job. Just kidding. We all know that isn’t an option.